Today's consumer possesses a growing interest in the benefits of regular activity, including increased energy, enhanced appearance and general feeling of well-being. More people are devoting greater amounts of time and resources to pursuing effective activity programs, geared to individual exercise needs and history.
For example, people join health clubs and then discover that the group environment is more social than productive and more stifling or pressured. Health clubs generally report higher numbers of new members around the December holiday season gradually tapering off in mid-winter as even the new members stop attending. The reasons are often related to overtraining at the outset, and resultant pain, impeding the desire to return to the spa. Health spa members thus rarely maintain a consistent exercise program.
There are a great many products that have been introduced in response to the growing need for an all inclusive, well balanced program, including complex home exercise equipment, software, books, magazines, cassettes and videotapes, and there is an increase in companies that purport to provide health assessment profiles, nutritional and dietary guidance, and even, private coaches or physiologists.
Larry Cuzzort, a fourth place finisher in the 1982 TAC Cross Country Championship at Penn State developed a computer program to account for his runs over a period of time, including weather conditions, types of terrain and other variables. Similar programs have been developed by others, including Jim Fixx's "The Running Program" which is billed as a personalized running guide for developing daily training programs. Other such programs are provided by Computer Services, Homesoft, Inc., Runsoft and the Running Coach. A tennis program is available through PC Computennis, a swimming program through Peak Performance, aerobics program from Meca, a weight lifting program from AMTI Biomechanics and a cycling program from Game Plan. Similarly, Dr. Francois Peronnet and Guy Thibault developed a large, self-contained running computer called "Hermann" which requires the intervention of its creators for the development of an individual-specific training program.
However, these programs suffer drawbacks, including a limitation to generally one activity, and a hardware (personal computer) requirement to run the software (Hermann even requires its own, large personal computer). Though some software programs profess to account for more than one activity, and there is a Borg/Nobel chart for perceived exertion, there are presently no systems that are presented in kit form, simple and handheld, supplying a full process for exercise, i.e. accounting for all exercises and activities, geared to the specific individual user's parameters, including the affects of environment (temperature, ground or terrain conditions, etc.), and providing access to a team of expert physicians and coaches who can impart their special knowledge and skill.